Richmond residents listen to stories of residential school survivors

Dozens gathered at Cook Elementary School in Richmond Sunday to hear the stories of First Nation Survivors of the residential school system.

One day ahead of the 4th annual Day for Truth and Reconciliation, many shared their stories of year after year of abuse under the system, including writer and Elder Randy Fred, who was forced to attend Alberni Indian Residential School at six years old.

In 1956, Fred says his parents were threatened by the RCMP with jail time if he didn’t go. At age 74, Fred can still recall his first day.

“My dad picked me up from the cab, carried me up the front stairs, handed me off to this guy at the door,” said Fred.

“They brought me into the bathroom, told me to undress in the shower, turned the water on. And he had a fire extinguisher with a pump handle, and it was full of bug killer, and he sprayed me all over — head to foot — with that bug killer. That was my welcome to the Alberni Indian Residential School.”

Fred says he spent nine years in the institution where the horrific experience continued. He says he was raped at age six and repeatedly up until his final year, which led him down a path of heavy drug and alcohol use.

In his 20s, he said he had suicidal tendencies, but after years of sharing his story, he says he regained his strength through spirituality and found power in helping others through his nonprofit, One In Spirit Healing Arts Society in Nanaimo.

“I have a very strong belief that stories are healing. Stories can be healing.”

Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the families and communities of children who survived residential schools and those who never returned home. Public commemorations of the history and its lasting impacts take place around the Lower Mainland and Canada.

—With files from Charles Brockman